Delivering mechanism for eyeleting and similar machines



w. M. SPRY' Nlarch 15,1932.

DELIVERING MECHANISM FOR EYELETTNG AND SIMILAR MACHINES Filed Aug. 2, 1928 Inven/of Hfforney Patented Mar. 15, 1932 'umraioiisraras P TENT oFFrca i WILLIAM M. SPRY, or nnhcnmonmxmssnonusn'ms, ASSIGNOR T LORENZ r. MUTHER, on CENTER mivrron, vmssnonusn'rrs nnmvnnmennonamsm Eon EYELETING Ann SIMILAR monmns Application filed August 2, 192a; 'Seria11ll'o."296,886.

This invention relates to adelivering mechanism for use in automatic eyeletingunachines. and more particularly to a delivering mechanism designed for feeding contacts of the character shown in the application of Lorenz F. Muther for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 296,928, filed on even date herewith. V a

At the present time and heretofore in the manufacture of radio apparatus, it is and has been customary to fasten'by rivets or eyelets email contacts to insulatingmaterial in ,va-

rious forms to which contacts the "electrical conductors 01' wires are fastened; In most cases, the insulating material is molded with round holes properly-located to receive eyelets and the small contacts are providedwith similar holes. In aflixingthe con-tacts to the insulating material, foot power eyeletin-g machines have been used in which case the operator places with onehand the insulating I material upon the lower setting tool, the" center of which projects upwardly through the hole in the material, and holds, with the other hand, the contact inproper position on the material. The depression of the treadle of the machine then causes the upper setting tool to Withdraw an eyelet from the raceway of the machine and to feed it into the holes in r the contact and insulating material and against the lower tool to clench' the end of the barrel of the eyelet upon the under side of the said material. This method,however, is slow and expensive and injuries to the fingers of the operators are'frequent. The placing of the contact in correct position with its eyelet hole injregister with the hole in the insulating material consumes time and slows down the setting operation and the small size of the contact which has to be held in position until the eyelet is set renders the hand of the operator liable to injury by the upper tool unless extreme care is used. Accidents t'romthis cause, however, have been very frequent.

To obviate the foregoing difiiculties is the main purpose of the invention shown and described in the said Muther application hereinbefore referred to in which a contact: is shown having an eyelet barrel formedrintegral therewith for attaching itto the insulating material and alsohaving a guiding m'emberfor positioning the contact for. deliverytothe setting tools of an automatic eyeleting machine through a delivering mechanism. 7 Themain object of the present invention is the provision of a'delivering mechanism for eyeletin g machinesadapted for automatically feeding contacts in which an eyelet barrel is made an integral part of the contact thereby increasingthe speed of the setting operation and eliminating all possibility of injury to the operator. Y I r An'other object of theinvention is the provision of means in the delivering mechanism for insuring delivery of the contacts to the setting tools in the correct position for application to the insulating material.

7 Other objects of the invention will be more specifically set forth and described hereinafter. 1

The present invention contemplates a delivering mechanism comprising a racewayand a hopper preferably integral therewith adapted for feeding contacts of the character described and for presenting them to the setting tools of an automatic eyeleting machinein proper position for'permanent attachment to insulating material. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the raceway is provided with a pair of rails secured to its body portion in separated relation therefromandfrom each other to 'form a runway for the contacts, the body of the contact lying between the rails and the bodyof the raceway and the barrel of the eyelet projecting out between the rails. As a further guiding means and to insure the contacts entering the raceway from the hopper in the right position, the body of the raceway is provided with a longitudinal off-center groove for receiving the guiding member on the contacts, the groove being extended into the hopper a suflicie'nt distance to permit the guiding member of the contact to drop therein only when the contact is in a proper position to leave the hopper and enter the raceway.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one form of the invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the setting instrumentalities of one form of automatic eyeleting machine showing in side elevation a delivering mechanism constructed and adapted to be operated in accordance with my invention mounted thereon in position for delivering contacts to the setting tools; Figure 2 is a plan view of portions of the hopper and raceway adjacent thereto, certain parts being shown in section to better illustrate the construction; Figure?) is a cross-sectional view on line 33 in Figure 2 lookingupwardly; Figure 4 is a similar cross-sectional view on line 4-4 in Figure 2 looking in the same direction and Figure-5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the hopper exit for the passage of contacts therefrom to the raceway showing a contact with its guiding memher in the guiding groove preparatory to being pushed out through the opening into the raceway taken on the line 55 in Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings showing a delivering mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, 10 indicates a hopper for carrying a, supply of contacts and 12 a raceway. The raceway is in the form of an elongated arm curved at its lower end to deliver a contact at the desired point. When mounted on an eyeleting machin in operative position the hopper is uppermost and the members fed by the raceway fall by gravity to the delivery end thereof.

For guiding the contacts a pair of rails 14 are secured to the face of the raceway 12'at suitable intervals by screws 16, the rails being separated from the face side of theraceway by small blocks or washers 18 mounted on the screws 16 and interposed between the rails and the face of the raceway in order to separate the rails a sufficient distance to accommodate the body portions of the contacts. The two rails are separated from each other a sufficient distance to permit the eyelet barrels of the contacts to ride loosely therebe tween.

The body of the raceway 12 is further provided with a longitudinal groove 20 located at one side of the central longitudinal axis of the raceway, this groove being of sufficient width and depth to accommodate the guiding members 76 on the contacts 72 loosely and without a binding action between the guiding members and the sides of the groove 20. The groove serves to guide the contacts in their downward course to prevent any turning thereof on the eyelet barrel 74 as a pivot and to insure this result the guiding member on the contacts where it enters the groove is flattened in order to form a bearing against the sides of the groove to prevent a twisting action.

The groove is extended a short distance into the base of the hopper, a distance sufficient to receive the guiding member 76 on in the hopper unless the contact happens to be in position shown in Figure 5.

By locating the groove at one side of the central longitudinal axis of the raceway l2 and'the guiding member on one side of the center longitudinal axis of the contact and by limiting the extent to which the groove extends into the hopper, the correct position of the contact for leaving the hopper is assured sincethe position shown in Figure 5 is'the only positio'n'of the contact in which the guiding member will drop into the end of the groove within the hopper.

The hopper is provided with the usual brushes for agitating the supply of contacts therein which brushes are of the usual well known construction, these brushes being rotated in the hopper by means of a pulley 26 fastened to a shaft 28 rotatably mounted in a sleeve 30, the pulley being held on the shaft by a nut 32'. As the brushes are rotated, the contacts in the hopper are thrown about and occasionally a contact is swept into the position shown in Figure 5 and the guiding member 76 drops into the groove whereby it is held in that position and finally is swept out into the raceway by the centrifugal action of the brushes and the rotation of the brushes from time to time causes a contact to be swept out into the raceway until the raceway is full. I

The end of the raceway is provided with a spring clip forreceiving and holding the lowermost contact and a separating device for separating the lowermost contact from the next succeeding contact in the raceway may be used if desired. The holding spring and separating device are old and well-known means and it is unnecessary to show them herein. The purpose of these devices is to hold the lowermost contact in position to be engaged by the upper setting tool on its descent and to be carried thereby down upon the material and to prevent this operation being interfered with by the next succeeding contact in the raceway.

In order to prevent the contacts binding in the raceway by over or underlapping of adjacent contacts which might/ensure if one end of the contact tilted out between the rails, the body of the contact should be wider at both ends than the eyelet barrel so that it will overlap at its rear end the two rails and be held against tilting. This same result may, of course, be secured by having the body of Figure 1 of the drawings in which is shown merely the setting finstrumentalities of an automatic eyeleting machine comprising an upper set 40 having a central spindle 42 and a lower set 44'having a central portion 46. These tools are of usualand well known construction. The spindle 42 is spring pressed so that it will yield when necessary during the setting operation. The lower set is carried. by an arm 46 in which it is'ad? justable by means of the screw 48 and is held in adjusted position by a. set nut 50. The upper set is held in a plunger shaft 52 by a set screw 54 which plunger shaft is mounted in a frame 56 adaptedrto reciprocate verti cally. It is unnecessary to show the operating mechanisms since they are wellknown in the art. The deliveringmechanism is shown as mounted on suitable'partsof the frame 60 bymeans of a bolt'62 fastenedto a lug 64 formed on the base of the hopper and inthe-constructionshown in the machine of Figure 1 the delivering mechanism is .held'zinfixed position by said bolt. The end of the raceway is curved to reach a point between thehopper and lower set and just above the work 7 0 which is shown in of the'contactQ In operating the machine, the'brushesin the hopper sweep out-the contacts 72 through the opening 22 and they fall .to the end of the raceway, the lowermost contact being held by the'retaining spring'in a position to be engaged by the upper set on its descent. The operator places the work as shown in Figure 1 on the lower set, the centre 46 of the lower set projecting up through the hole in the work in which the contact is tobe set. The machine is generally started with a foot treadle and when the operator depresses the treadle, the upper set moves downwardly into the eyelet barrel 74 in the contact on the retaining finger, separates it therefrom and carries it downwardly pushing the barrel of the eyelet into the hole in the insulating material and around the centre of the lower set and then continuing on forces the end of the eyelet barrel and clenches it upon the lower face of the insulating material which completes the operation and the upper set then moves upwardly to its initial" position. If a separating device is used for interposingba tween the lowermost eyelet and thenext succeeding eyelet in the raceway, it is .so arranged that as the upper set moves downwardly, the separating device is thrown into operative position and thereby prevents the next succeeding. contact from moving downwardly to the retaining spring and interfer- 7 ing with the upper set. Upon the upward movement of the upper set the separating position for the attachment member is withdrawn and the next succeed -V ing eyelet moves down by force of gravity onto the retaining spring and into a position to be engaged by the upper set and withdrawn that all dangerof injury to the operator isv totally eliminated. Furthermore, all delays in setting contacts involved in the placing of the contact with its hole in register with the hole in the insulating material is obviated and the operation is thereby speeded up so be attached to insulating-material is governed solely by the speed with which the operator can place the work on the lower set and trip the machine.

It isto be understood that my invention is that the speed with which the contacts can t without departing from the spirit of my invention to insure proper'setting of contacts of various forms by adherence to the features of the invention herein pointed out andide scribed. e

What I claim is :-1

V 1. A delivering mechanism for eyeleting machines for feeding contacts provided with a guiding member onone end comprising a;

hopper for containing a supply of contacts and provided with an opening for the exit'of contacts,an elongated arm having a runway for the passage of contacts, said runway be-' ing provided with a longitudinal off-center groove for receiving the guiding members on said contacts, said groove extending into said hopper a distance suflicient to insure exit of contacts therefrom,- guiding member end foremost, and means insaid hopper for agitating said contacts to cause them to pass out of said opening.

2.. A. delivering mechanism for eyeleting machines comprising ahopper for holding a supplyof contacts, each provided with an eyelet barrel and a guiding member on one end, said hopper being provided with an opening permitting the passage of contacts therefrom, an elognated arm having a runinto said'hopper a distance sufficient only to I insure "said contacts leaving said hopper guiding member end foremost.

3.'A deliveringmechanism for eyeleting machines adapted for feeding contacts provided with an eyelet barrel formed therein and an offset guiding member, comprising a I as ing an eyelet barrel formed therein and provided with an offset guiding prong comprising a hopper for holding'arsupply of said contacts and a raceway for feeding said contacts, said raceway being provided with an oif-center groove for receiving the guiding member on said contacts, said groove extending into saidhopper.

f 5. In an eyeleting machine, the combination with eyelet setting mechanism of means for feeding contact plates provided with an integral eyelet barrel and an offset uiding member comprising a'hopper for containing a supply of contacts and provided with an opening, a raceway having a longitudinal groove for accommodating the guiding memberv on the contacts, said groove extending into said hopper a suficient distance to catch the guiding member on said contacts in said hopper, a pair of rails mounted on said raceway for guiding said contacts by engagement with the eyelet barrel on said contact, and means in said hopper for stirring up said contacts to cause the same to engage the end of the raceway groove in said hopper with their guiding members and to pass out through the opening in said hopper onto said raceway.

6. A mechanism for delivering contactsin the form of a tongued eyelet having an offset turned lug, comprising a hopper for containing a supply of said contacts, said hopper having an opening for the passage of contacts therefrom, and a raceway for the passage of said contacts from said hopper to the point of delivery, said raceway having a runway for accommodating said contacts and an offcenter groove in said runway for accommodating the lugs on said contacts, said groove extending into said hopper through said opening only such distance as will insure that the contacts emerge from said hopper lug end foremost. v

2". A, mechanism for delivering contacts in the form of a tongued eyelet having an offset turned lug at one end, comprising a hopper for containing a supply of said contacts, said hopper having an opening for the passage of 7 contacts therefrom, means in said hopper for agitating said contacts and a raceway for delivering said contacts, said raceway being of a. form in cross-section suitable for causing said contacts to travel in a path coincident with theirlongitudinal axes and said runway having a longitudinal off-center groove for accommodating the lugs on said contacts in order to guide and to prevent said contacts turning in said raceway in their travel from said hopper to the pointof delivery.

8. The combination with an eyeleting machine having a pair of cooperating eyelet setting tools of a delivering mechanism for feeding contacts provided with an eyelet barrel provided with a lateral guiding member formed thereon, comprising a hopper for carrying a supply of contacts and having an opening for the passage of contacts therefrom and an elongated arm for delivering said contacts to said setting tools, said arm being provided with arunway for the'contacts having an ofi'v-center groove therein for receiving the guiding members of said contacts to prevent said contacts from turning in saidrunway; a

9. The combination with an eyeleting machine having a pair of cooperating eyelet set ting members of a delivering mechanism for feeding contacts provided with an eyelet barrel and a laterally turned guiding member. comprising a hopper for carrying a supply of said contacts and having an opening for the passage of contacts therefrom and an elongated arm for delivering said contacts to said setting tools, said arm being provided with a runway for the passage of said contacts having an oflicenter groove therein for receiving the guiding members of said contacts to prevent said contacts from turning in said runway in their passage from said hopper to said setting tools; saidgroove'extending into said hopper a distance suliicient for properly positioning said contacts to leave said hopper.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of July, 1928.

i WILLIAM M. SPRY. 

